Tree Tales: Adventure with the lost trees

Saturday

Oct 12, 2013 at 12:01 AM

By Vonnie Maple

The Journal-Standard

Before I begin with my latest adventure, I want to remind everyone that today is the 5K Autumn Leaf Run at Oakdale Nature Preserve. The proceeds go toward planting 500 trees in Stephenson County to replace the ones destroyed by the Emerald Ash Borer. I will not be running myself, but I have a few friends that will be running, so I’m going early to take pictures. I believe the times are 8 a.m. to 9 a.m.

This week my dad and I journeyed once again to our northern neighbor, Wisconsin, as he had a doctor appointment at the Veteran’s Hospital in Madison. Wednesday was nearly perfect with fresh, crisp air, the grass an extra deep green and the trees happy with bushy leaves, as some have already begun to don their autumn apparel. Autumn is my favorite season. Everything seems a little clearer, a little fresher and a little crisper. The sky was a powdery, baby blue with whispers of cottony clouds, lounging lazily about in the sky. Yes, it was going to be a wonderful drive. Even my dad mentioned a few times what a beautiful day it was.

As we traveled further north, I watched for familiar landmarks, which usually start on the other side of Monroe. Soon we approached the elk farm on the left. I always enjoy gazing at the magnificent beasts, of course, my dad did most of the gazing, since I was driving. My dad told me a story, one of many that he has stored in his head, but this story always brings a tear to my eye. In his younger days, he would venture to Colorado each year to hunt elk. One year he shot a huge elk, but the shot didn’t kill it right away, so he needed to finish what he started. As he approached, the beautiful animal turned his head to look at my dad, those massive antlers majestically crowning his head and their eyes met. My dad felt like the elk was saying, “How dare you come to my home and take my life?” After that, my dad never hunted again and I gained a ton of respect for this man.

The next landmark I always look forward to is found just north of Monticello on the right side. These are the Brown Swiss cattle with their “deer like” features. All cattle seem to have those bring brown eyes, but Brown Swiss are my favorite. As we continued on, we came to the third landmark on my list...The Watermelon House. This is just before you enter the tiny town of Paoli, on the right side. If you have traveled this road yourself, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. The easiest time to spot this structure is late fall to early spring, before the leaves all bush out. However, it can still be seen with a little extra searching through the leaves. The house is old now and needs a paint job to renew the fruity appearance, but one can still make out the pink watermelon color with the green trim.

Finally, we arrive in my favorite tiny town...Paoli. Then I know Madison is not far and we are right on schedule, but wait! There is a detour sign, Bridge out! Oh dear! I did not notice any other directions posted to take to Madison, so we just started down a northern facing road. It just didn’t feel right though, so I thought I was smart by calling the hospital for directions. The operator was very kind and helpful, however, it was too many directions of “stop here, turn there, turn left, turn right”, so I just thanked her and headed back to Paoli.

Finally, I got “smart-er” and stopped at a cute little store for directions. The girl inside was extremely helpful, so thank you to Courtney at the “Backyard Chicken Supplies” store. She instructed us to take the road next to the store. This was Range Road and would take us to Verona. We headed out in the direction she showed us and it ended up being the best part of the day. The winding road led us into peaceful meadows and gentle hills. Both sides of the road were breathtaking. I stopped and took this picture. We felt like we were in another world with the many shades of green and the trees framing the picturesque farmland. The white picket fence added to the peaceful invitation that led to the farm home.

In the middle of the pasture were some beautiful cattle grazing and being protectively guarded by a rather large, black bull. Even his immense size did not mar the tranquil picture. Reluctantly, we continued on and the rest of the day was smooth sailing and we were only ten minutes late for my dads appointment. We could hardly wait to head back home and travel that special road again.

Sometimes life takes us on a detour, we are better off to find the beauty along the road then to whine and complain of the change in plans. Soon the entire earth will be a beautiful and peaceful place...it is a promise. Psalm 37:11, 29... “But the meek will possess the earth and they will find exquisite delight in the abundance of peace.” Please return next week for more Tree Tales and may you have a smile on your face and joy in your heart and remember to always “Look to the Tree”!